Northeast Tenn. schools closely watch slow-going voucher negotiations
KINGSPORT and ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — With the legislative session set to wrap up by the end of April, the future of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s school voucher proposal is still up in the air.
Versions in both the House and Senate have been stalled in committees since last month, but top state lawmakers say they’re hoping to work out a deal to pass the legislation soon.
Kingsport School Board votes to lower tuition rates for non-city residents
Bristol State Senator Jon Lundberg, who sponsored the Senate version, told News Channel 11 Friday that Republican leaders continue to negotiate while on break for the weekend.
“We’re hoping we can get together with something by midweek,” Lundberg said.
If lawmakers opt to adopt the Senate bill, not only would students be able to use public dollars to attend private school, but they’d also be able to use state monies to pay tuition to attend a different public school district than the one where they live.
It’s a component of the bill that local school leaders are still processing.
“It’ll be interesting to see if, in fact, that goes through how that does impact us,” said Unicoi County Director of Schools John English.
With only about 2,000 students in the county, English said, even a small decrease in student population could make a big impact.
“I mean, the prospects, if you did see even a smaller number leave, the challenge is that still does it change your overhead costs for building for infrastructure or for teachers, for staff?” English said.
Whether or not the voucher plan becomes a reality, Kingsport City Schools is preparing to welcome more tuition students.
This week, the Board of Education lowered tuition rates for all Tennessee students to $1,000 per year.
“Our goal really is how can we make it an attractive option for folks that may want to come to Kingsport?” said Assistant Superintendent Andy True. “In the past, the financial side of that, that tuition costs may have been a barrier.”
When asked whether the district was preparing for a large influx of students, True said even if the district sees more requests, it’s always a numbers game.
“For example, on a given year, we may have a parent saying, ‘I would like to attend my child to enroll in third grade at this elementary school,'” True told News Channel 11. “So we really drill down to look at you know, what our numbers are like by school, by grade level, and a lot of times we can say, ‘Yes, that we have the opportunity for that.'”
Sometimes, though, True said they have to send parents to a different school. That process, True said, would not change even if the voucher proposal is approved.
Both the Senate and House bills are scheduled in committees next week.
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